Mystery Jets at Soup Kitchen review

Simon Binns pops in to a pop-up gig in the Northern Quarter

Soup Kitchen in the Northern Quarter’s Stevenson Square was taken over by MySpace and the Mystery Jets on Monday for a free pop-up gig.

It was a nice, intimate, touchy-feely gig and there was enough head-nodding and foot-tapping to stop it feeling overly corporate. There was even a bit of swaying down the front.

The gig was in association with Kit Kat Chunky, which meant free chocolate bars for the queuing hoards all hoping to squeeze into the venue, which had been cleared out and rigged up for a half-hour acoustic set from the Twickenham indie-kids.

The band had been stripped down too, with usual vocalist Blaine Henderson stuck in the US after apparently losing his passport, although stand-in singers William Rees and Kai Fish claimed he was “lost on the motorway, eating a Ginsters.” They were joined by drummer Kapil Trivedi and the three remaining members delivered an upbeat, jangly five-song set, starting with recent free single ‘Flash a Hungry Smile’ to a crowd making the most of their Monday lunch break.

Highlight of the set, however, was ‘Young Love’, taken from their second album, Twenty One. “It’s got a female bit on it sung by Laura Marling,” announced Fish. “But we haven’t got Laura Marling. Or any females in the band. Can anyone in here sing the Laura Marlin bit?”

Up shot a hand. Cue random fan on vocals, performing admirably and sparking the biggest round of applause of the day. Her performance was also being streamed live on Myspace.com to around 10,000 people.

It was a nice, intimate, touchy-feely gig and there was enough head-nodding and foot-tapping to stop it feeling overly corporate. There was even a bit of swaying down the front.

The makeshift three-piece closed with new single ‘Dreaming of Another World’, a slice of melodic mid-range indie, before wishing the crowd a pleasant afternoon back at work.Today’s cellophane and cardboard wrapped sandwich will be relatively dull by comparison. And no free Kit Kats either.

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